GARDENDALE, Alabama - Renovations on Gardendale's Moncrief Kiddie
Park are set to begin this August.

"If you drive by the park any day of the week you can see the
children--Gardendale's future--manning the slides or on the swings," Councilman
Allen Jerkins told AL.com.

Improvements to the park, which is located off of Moncrief
Road near the tennis courts, include two new pieces of equipment, removing
some old equipment that dates back to the 1970s, building new restroom
facilities attached to one of the pavilions inside the fenced area, adding a boarder
around the play area, and replacing the pea gravel with wood fiber.

Jerkins told the Gardendale City Council during a work
session Monday night that the total cost of the project is estimated around
$89,700. Council members encouraged Jerkins and Dale Hyche, director of the Parks
and Recreation Department, to also look into replacing the fence around the
playground.

Funds for the renovations will come from the Parks and
Recreation revenue account. Council President Stan Hogeland explained that any
time someone rents a pavilion the money used is put into the Parks and Rec
account and that money may only be used for park improvements.

"We wanted to put that money back to work for the citizens
of Gardendale," Jerkins told AL.com. "And the best way to do that is to
revitalize our Kiddie Park."

Renovations are set to begin in August after children head
back to school and park traffic slows down.